Dan's Wheel of Magic

Chapter 12

Those with Dan at present:

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Ella - witch - fire

Bell - witch - water

En'tra - Dark elf - dark magic

Kim'ta - Light elf - light magic

Tygan - Light elf - light magic

Gre'ta - blue dragon - electricity

Marlena - mer-maid - sound

Shae'ten - harpy - air

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"So the traitor shows himself, selling his soul to the elf king!" Dan said.

"I am no traitor, I remember the treachery of the humans before he drove the humans away," the ex-commander said.

Dan's hands started to glow redder than ever before. "I am sorry that you have to die," Dam said.

This caused the dragon to laugh 'til he screamed, then turned to ash. The other with him whispered, "Lava!" then dropped his sword.

Dan turned to look at the other dragon that was standing there. "So you now realize that I didn't lie. Perhaps the other races will now realize who and what I am."

"I apologize, mage sir," the dragon said, still groveling on the floor. "He only saw that you were trying to destroy the clan. Even after you helped the others."

Dan could only shake his head as he looked at the dragon. He then turned toward Lo'than and sighed. "Not really sure why I thought that things would be different. All I wanted to do was help, and your clan acts this way. There won't be another chance if this happens again."

Lo'than looked truly fearful as Dan talked to his companions. "You will finish, won't you?" he asked.

"I'll finish, though I am afraid that I can not stay here. Fearing for one's life is not conducive to me helping that strongly. I'll return, though I will not risk staying here," I said, looking around with a cautious eye.

We all vanished as soon as we were together. A moment later we appeared back in the blue dragon clan.

"You've returned sooner than we thought you would," Ad'ella said, then her face fell. She saw the seriousness on our faces. "They didn't try to kill you again, did they?" she asked.

Dan sighed as he only stared at her. "I had thought that they had learned after last time. Perhaps they might learn now."

Dan walked on with them except for Gre'ta. "It wasn't that well he had to destroy a red commander that tried to kill him. He... he used Lava," here Gre'ta shuddered. "He was gone in almost no time."

Ad'ella shuddered as well, seeing the death that had happened. "As he said, let's hope that they have learned."

"Dan said this was their last chance, he's only healed about a thousand. They have a great many left," Gre'ta said.

Ad'ella grimaced as she thought of Dan denying that clan. She hoped that things turned out well. With only a thousand eggs healed, the clan might not make it. Especially with most of the adults not healed.

Gre'ta nodded then walked quickly to catch up with Dan and the others. That night he was again joined by two companions, unfortunately he was so tired he was out quickly.

The next day, all of his companions were ready for combat before they left. This time, when they appeared, there was a wall of females that were awaiting them.

Dan's eyes were wide as he took in everything. He was even more shocked when a female representing the group bowed at his feet, as did the rest.

"Master mage, we are here to assure you that you are safe. For your safety, we will not leave your side 'til you are finished," the female said.

Dan stood there with his mouth open. "What?" He started.

"Our eggs are the life of the clan, if they don't hatch there isn't much hope for us," the female said.

Dan turned to look at his companions, all of whom were nodding their heads in agreement. "That goes for all the races of their planet. You may not know, but all the races are suffering as the dragons are. As far as we can tell, you are the only hope for the world," Gre'ta said.

Dan's head snapped up in shock, his eyes wide. He'd never had such a weight upon him, not even near. He shook his head, the entire world?

"Are you sure?" Dan asked, a look of bewilderment on his face.

All of his companions nodded their heads yes. This made Dan even more grim about the situation. He thought about it for a moment, then a look of determination came over his features.

"Dan? Are you alright?" Tygan asked.

Dan turned to the rest of them. "I swear that I will undo the evil that the Elf King has committed. I can not allow this to continue. This ass seems to be out to kill all the races here."

His companions were shocked at first, then nodded their agreement. "I agree," Marlena said.

"I think that we all do," Gre'ta said. "I pledge to aid you in this mission to save our world."

The rest of his companions nodded their agreement as they all knelt to swear to him.

Still shocked a bit, Dan accepted, then moved to the hatchling room. A great many females around Dan and his companions.

It took the rest of the day as Dan had to slowly check all the eggs. He'd reached two thousand when he started to feel fatigued.

He looked at where he was in the room, seeing that he was only three fourths done. As he moved, a large contingent of females moved with him.

It was well past evening when he finally reached the last egg. Finished with it, he almost fell as he turned from it. He was caught by all the females and his companions, a look of pure exhaustion on his face.

He was quickly led to a bedroom chamber as he fell into the bedding. He motioned for his companions, whispering to them. All of them shook their heads' no, then a wall of red dragon females blocked the doorway.

The next day, Dan awoke to the sound of many tiny feet running through the clan. At first, a groggy Dan wasn't sure where he was, then he saw the many young.

He nodded as he arose and gathered his companions. They left, walking to the red clan leader, Lo'than.

Lo'than slightly bowed to Dan. "We thank you that you gave the red clan a chance. We will remember the lessons learned." He looked at the many red clan females, many with anger on their faces. "Yes, I believe that many of the males have learned."

Dan smiled as he nodded, "I, too, hope that they have learned. I am glad that the red clan will now survive."

Dan waved to all there as he linked with his companions and they vanished. A moment later they appeared in the blue dragon clan.

There were many hugs and goodbyes as they vanished, appearing at the base of the mountain. Dan decided that they should start healing his allies before he started on the others.

He discussed it with the others before they gathered and vanished, appearing in the Harpy village. At first, there was a great amount of yelling before the elder appeared.

Kol'ta the elder bowed low to Dan, as did the rest of the village. "We believe that we have found the source of the disease. It appears that the Elf King wishes to destroy all the other races."

Dan whispered to Kol'ta then touched her. For a moment, nothing happened, then a light surrounded her. Many that were there had their mouths gaped open as she was suddenly healthy and looking normal.

A moment later there was an almost mad rush to get to Dan. Kol'ta held up a hand as they stopped and got in line. Half an hour later Dan thought he was done, when he noticed a great amount of more Hapires arriving.

Kol'ta whispered in Dan's ear that she hoped that Dan didn't mind that she called the other Harpy clans. Dan was startled a moment, then nodded his head in agreement.

It took another two hours as Dan felt that they were almost an unending line of them. At the end, there were almost a thousand of them there when he almost fell again.

Many bowed to Dan before a great many of them flew off. Many also promised that they would help all they could when he went against the Elf king.

Dan was shocked that he had as much support from the Harpy clans as he did. He sat wi8th the rest of his companions to rest after all that he had healed.

Not long after, he had a discussion with them about who was next. They all agreed that the wolf clan nearby should be next.

A few hours later they set out to find the wolf clan. They were only an hour away from the Harpy village when they saw signs of the wolf clan. Not long after that, a large wolf appeared before them.

For a moment, Dan was afraid that they might have the wrong wolf clan. That was 'til the large wolf came and laid down in front of Dan.

"My friend," Dan started. "I am happy to see you again."

"As am I," the wolf replied.

"Is your clan well? I have been worried since we left," Dan said.

"We have been progressing far better than the other clans. Many, I am afraid, are suffering greater than we were. I am afraid that we are the only healthy clan.

Dan listened to what the leader wolf said with a grimace. "Not sure if I can heal them as I did this clan. I know that none of the clans agree on many things."

The wolf nodded to what Dan said. "Word can be sent to the others, though you may have to meet them outside of our clan lands."

Dan nodded his agreement then talked to his companions. After they all agreed with his plan, they moved to an empty area away from the wolves. The large wolf sending others to alert the other wolf clans.

Only a few hours later a huge number of different wolf clans started to arrive. They all kept away from the others as several of the leaders approached Dan.

He heard them talking to each other wondering why they were here. They all jerked to attention when Dan started to talk to them in their language.

"I am the human mage, Dan, I have asked you here to try and save the clans," Dan said.

This started the leaders that were there to start to laugh. At least 'til Dan touched one of them for a moment. There was a shocked gasp as, just a few seconds, had the leader half-healed.

There was growling for a moment, then the half-healed wolf looked at Dan. "I feel better than I have in a very long time. The healers said that there was no cure how?"

Dan did his best not to smirk, "As many have said, I am human," many of the wolves gasped. "I have found that as time progresses I can heal far better than most."

This then started a long session of Dan healing a great many extremely hesitant wolves. Though they didn't trust him, they were still healed at the leader's urging.

Finished a few hours later Dan nearly collapsed, exhausted. A sudden message appeared: {you have gained the spell withal healing.}

Dan smiled for a moment, then nearly fell. "I do believe that I pushed a little much." Dan's eyes rolled back a bit as several of his companions lowered to the ground.

Both Bell and Ella were almost in his face. "I thought that you learned the last time this nearly happened," admonished Ella.

"You keep this up, and you're not going to last," Bell huffed.

"I am fine," Dan started, then drew back as both Ella and Bell started to yell.

"You are not fine!" Bell said. "You've lost consciousness several times. You are not, fine!"

"From what I have seen, your body is using more energy than you have. You never rest enough, and you push yourself further than you should. I am surprised that you have lasted this long," Ella said with her arms crossed.

Dan looked at En'tra, Kim'ta and Tygan as they nodded their assent. He then saw that Marlena and Shae'ten were also agreeing. He then saw that Gre'ta was staring at him intensely.

"I can see that you are indeed far weaker than you were. It won't kill you to rest more," Gre'ta said.

Dan sighed as he knew that he couldn't fight against all eight of them. "I would agree, but I feel that we have to move quicker, especially after what the elf king did."

"You mean sending troops to exterminate a whole white elf city. Yeah, that would indicate that he has lost a sense of his people and his mind," Gre'ta said.

Dan nodded as he was suddenly feeling weaker than he had. "At least we, or rather you, have forged allies now. Not that many but some to start," Shae'ten said.

Dan was nodding his head, "Yes, though we will need a great deal more with what I feel is coming. It will make things easier in the long run."

"What do you feel is coming?" Shae'ten asked. "What pray tell, do you think is coming?"

"From what I can see, I am afraid that a war that will touch all races here," Dan said with a grimace on his face. "I also feel that the end of this is going to be between him and me."

"That sounds suspiciously like what happened centuries ago," En'tra said.

"Oh? Care to explain?" Dan asked.

"I wasn't actually a part of it, but the queen and the king's mother disappeared. They say that not long after that, evidence was found that implemented the humans. The thing is the evidence was never confirmed, and the king went off on a tangent. There was an arch-mage that held all twelve aspects of magic," En'tra said.

"All twelve? He was that powerful and never claimed to want to rule? I have six and at times it is hard to keep a handle on things," Dan said.

"Yes, but the mage started a war that lasted for many years. The humans had started to vanish slowly 'til the king caught the mage leading the last to a huge portal. It is said that the mage sacrificed his life to make sure the humans were safe. I have heard talk that he is still here and waiting for his successor," En'tra said.

"His successor," Dan said as he quieted thinking about it.

"It was said that an ordinary human would appear. He'd have no power nor knowledge of magic. He'd gained his power rapidly soon after he appeared." Here En'tra stopped looking at Dan. "You have half the aspects, how many spells do you have for each?"

Dan looked at her strangely, the

n looked at his display. "Let's see, in fire I have six the highest being Lava. In water and ice I have five and four, water sword and ice shield. In my first light I have six, withal healing the highest. In my shadow I have six, the highest shadow sword. In air, I have five, the highest air sword. In my second light I now have five the highest light clone."

The whole time, En'tras was nodding her head. All the powers you have are at the edge of high range magic. You are at mid-range magic on all of them, some almost in the high range," she said. She was looking at the others as they all started to get a shocked look on their faces.

"So," Gre'ta said, a look of shock on her face. "You really think that he is the one?"

The rest of the females there looked at him with shock on their faces.

Dan turned to Gre'ta, "Think I am the one, what?"

"If I am right, you are the most important human on this planet. You've already healed the dragon clans, the Harpy clans and the wolf clans. Though that's just in this area. There are several others in three other areas," Tygan said.

"That's all well and good, though how do I earn the other six? I don't even know how I got the ones that I have now," a confused Dan said.

"We've been trying to figure that out the whole time. Still haven't figured it all out though," Tygan said. "Though we're still working on it."

They were about to move out when Marlena stopped suddenly. "Yes, father, I am with him still. Yes, I can ask him I'm sure. Of course, we'll be there as soon as we can."

Tears were falling from her eyes as she turned to Dan. All the rest of the females were worried as she went to Dan.

"What has happened?" Dan asked.

Marlena threw herself at Dan's feet. "It's my youngest brother. He has to stay next to his father, or he falls unconscious. Father is afraid that he might die if he moves away. Can we move there to where we met to help him?"

Dan looked at the rest of the females, then smiled when they all nodded yes. He reached out as all of them touched him or each other, then they vanished.

A few moments later they appeared near the spot where they had first met Marlena. Her father was there with a very sickly young boy.

"Sir Mage," were the first words out of the Merman's mouth. "My son has been sick since he was born. I pray that you can help him."

"I will do all that I can, if he has the strength, I can help. If he has been sick as long as you have said, then I might not be able to. I just want to warn you," Dan told the worried king.

Dan waited as the king spoke to the sickly boy who nodded, then the king held him toward Dan. A soft glow started around the boy as Dan moved closer to him. Finally touching him, the color of the body started to slowly grow healthier.

After ten minutes, he started to breathe better though he was still sickly looking. Dan let go a look of shock on his face as he backed up.

"Half of the problems he had are gone, especially the disease. He has a lot of damage that needs to be repaired. He needs to rest before I can do more," Dan said.

The king nodded as he walked out further, then the king placed him in a female's arms. He then walked back to Dan, stopping in front of him.

"Sir Mage," the king started. "Almost all of our clan is sick. Can you heal then as you did me?"

Dan looked incredulously at the king. "As allies with the humans, I would be honored to help your people."

The king seemed surprised that Dan agreed as readily as he did. The king bowed to Dan as he made a motion as a large number of mer-people advanced upon them.

Dan's mouth dropped open at the sheer amount of people that appeared. He then shook his head, yeah he thought this was going to be a while, that was for sure.

He searched through all that he saw, pointing to those that looked the worst. Taking a deep breath, he let it out, reaching for the first patient.

A great distance away, the elf king was raging through the castle. Stopping, he grabbed a page, tossing him across the room into the nearest wall. The wet crunch of the body slamming into it hardly had the king pausing.

A moment later the king's main mage appeared at the door to the chamber. "Your majesty, I haven't been able to contact the spy. It appears that they are dead."

The king was upon the mage faster than the male could follow. The mage then found himself high in the air, the king's hand around his throat.

"I suggest that you confirm that while you still can. If the two of you are conspiring against me? After I finish with the two of you, you'll wish, pray and beg for death," the king snarled in the mage's face.

The mage gasped for breath as the king dropped him on the floor like a wet rag. "Yes, your majesty," the mage said as he started to move from the room.

The mage was again snatched off the floor. "I suggest that you do it here so I can make sure," the king growled.

The mage gasped as he choked out, "I will do all that I can sire."

The king growled again in the mage's ear, "I certainly hope you do. Finding another mage as strong as you is a pain that will irritate me to no end."

"Yes sire I just need to," the mage started.

"You need nothing, as powerful as you say you are, you should do it here!" The king almost screeched. "Find my assassin now!"

The mage started to conjure as fast as he could, afraid that the king was about to end him. "I am starting to feel her," the mage cried, shocked that he could.

"Good, good," the king growled out. "I want a report from her now!"

The mage started to contact her, then again at higher power. The king watched as the mage tried harder and harder not getting through. Had the king not been as mad as he was he would have laughed.

The king was smiling now, though not as much as he hoped. He was shocked when the mage passed out from the strain. He then kicked the now unconscious mage for failing.

The king felt the path the mage had taken and decided to enter that way. He then was shocked, then even more angry that he couldn't get through.

He was getting madder and madder, he was the strongest on the planet, nothing should stop him. He kept at it, seeming to get closer and closer.

It was almost to the point that he was growing weaker when he felt the human. He also felt the six aspects and the six shields.

Even as he lost consciousness, the king was planning to send as many troops as he could to destroy the human. The human was growing too strong and needed to die.

Dan had felt the intrusion as some very strong power had tried to penetrate his defenses. It had taken all his shields combined to keep the power away.

All my female companions were holding their own counsel away from me. I started to say something, then felt the drain from defending us.

I heard a few gasps as I started to go down. I looked at all of them as they were concerned around me. "I kept that ass of a king out, but it took all I had."

That was the last as I fell against them, damn I felt weak.